 
GW: When was the last time you heard updates on that? Anything you can share?
BB: The last discussion I had about the webisodes [was] maybe two months ago. A month and a half.
GW: So it's not dead then?
BB: No!
GW: Cool, that's good! What first got you involved in Farscape? Farscape was being shot in Australia. Were you in Europe when you auditioned for that role? Or did someone tap you?
BB: I was in LA. Do you mean did someone tap me like tap me on the shoulder and say, "Hey, here's a job?"
GW: Exactly!
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Browder did not audition for Firefly's Malcolm Reynolds, but admits that he couldn't have done a better job than Nathan Fillion. |
BB: No. I auditioned like a couple hundred other guys. In fact, I was talking to Nathan Fillion about it down at Comic-Con. And he had auditioned for the same thing.
GW: He auditioned for "Crichton," too?
BB: He had auditioned for "Crichton" as well. I was saying, "How come everything I go out for you get?" And he goes, "I auditioned for Farscape!" I go, "No, you didn't!" "Yes, I did!" So, there you go. The one that got away from Nathan.
GW: Did you audition for Firefly?
BB: No, I was still working on Farscape at the time. But Nathan was great in that.
GW: Oh, It's a fabulous show.
BB: I don't think anyone could have done it any better.
GW: Nah. And isn't it such a shame? All of these things come into play, but it's not necessarily the great television shows that survive?
BB: It's not a meritocracy.
GW: Yeah, it's just business.
BB: I suppose so.
GW: You're a writer. You're not just an actor. Do you find yourself frustrated with this business? Or do you actually enjoy all the hoops that you have to go through in order to get a product on air?
BB: I couldn't say that I enjoy all the hoops. But it is what it is. You make peace with that as you go through. To be frustrated by it is silly, because you would drive yourself to despair. I don't have to be happy with it on a day-to-day basis. There are certainly days which are frustrating. But everybody has those frustrations.
It doesn't matter what job you're in. Most people don't have this incredible linear journey which is on an upward slope for their whole life. The economy does it. Life does it. It's just part of it. But I don't know that I would choose anything else.
GW: Has the economy affected Going Homer's production?
BB: I have no idea. I have no idea whether the economy has impacted that or not. I think the economy impacts everything at a certain point. The ebb and flow of money, and the cycles of business. It's an unavoidable part of our world.
"Systems work until they don't. And then you have to figure it out again. We have to recreate for ourselves."
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GW: What do you think about that? All that's going on right now? It's a big-topic issue.
BB: We would be getting into politics, and I probably shouldn't be going that way. I think that we're at an inevitable phase, to a certain degree. And I'm surprised that everyone is so surprised at the stage that we're at right now. I talk to people who haven't seen anything like this in their lives.
My grandparents grew up in the Depression. I'm not saying we're anywhere near that level. Because we're not. But systems work until they don't. And then you have to figure it out again. We have to recreate for ourselves.
GW: In the meanwhile, you just keep on ticking with your own projects and come what may.
BB: Do what you do and hope for the best. Realize that life isn't contained simply by the world as it sits at that moment. Ths sun still came up today, and it's a beautiful day. We could have tried to be here two days ago and it would have been rainy.
GW: How often do you find yourself getting recognized on the street for the various roles that you've done? And which frequently comes up more?
BB: Not all that often.
GW: Really? Okay. Do you find it frustrating when you do get recognized? You yourself said you got into this industry because you like the business ...
BB: It's not the business I like. I like acting. I like the storytelling. I like the craft.
GW: That's what I meant. I'm sorry.
BB: The business is often a separate thing altogether.
GW: But you didn't get into it to have people stop you on the side of the street and say "Oh, you're so good in that!"
BB: It never occurred to me that anyone would ever stop me on the street or airport -- or in the bathroom -- at all, because of something that I'd done acting.
GW: I remember you said it took you awhile to even get used to signing an autograph.
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" I still internally flinch when someone asks for an autograph."
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BB: Yeah. I still internally flinch when someone asks for an autograph. Because it doesn't connect. I go "Why? Why would you want an autograph?" I understand wanting someone else's autograph. I just don't understand anyone wanting mine.
GW: Do you say, "Well, maybe I'll give it to them because in the end it'll make them happier anyway. I'd rather have them leave happy then be frustrated that I didn't give it to them?"
BB: You sign an autograph because they want one and it doesn't cost you anything unless you're running to catch a plane ... or you're trying to eat your dinner or something. Most people who have ever asked me for an autograph have been incredibly nice. And generous. It's hard to imagine saying no.
GW: How long have you been in this industry now? Twenty-five years?
BB: How long have I been in Hollywood? I arrived in Hollywood in 1990. So eighteen years here. I've been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1986. So, 22, 23 years.
GW: What would you change -- obviously, you're mature now.
BB: I'm more mature than I was when I got up this morning, apparently.
GW: Well, you're more mature than you were when you stepped into LA.
BB: I'm older. I don't know that that equates with "mature." I am older.
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